How Many Times Do I Have to Repent?

A few weeks ago, I met with a passionate young Christian man, on fire for God but still unsure of his salvation. He was raised Catholic but hadn’t gone to confession in years and that guilt was starting to get to him.

“How many times do I have to repent to be truly forgiven?” was near the top of his list of questions. “Once,” I told him. “But then why are we commanded to confess to God and ask forgiveness when we sin,” was his wonderful follow-up question. Here’s how I answered him;